Back to all

Line Them Up: Wheel Alignment Service at Tuffy Wyoming

October 26, 2017

Hello Wyoming! Let's talk about alignment. One of the most important parts of preventive maintenance for your vehicle is keeping the wheels in alignment. Poor alignment causes your tires to wear unevenly, which can significantly reduce their lifespan. This means you will have to replace them more often, which can be costly for drivers in Wyoming.

It can even damage your suspension system, which is costly to repair. But even more importantly, uneven tread wear can lead to blowouts on the road, a dangerous and potentially deadly safety risk for Wyoming drivers and their passengers.

It may not take an accident or bad driving habits to “knock” your tires out of alignment. Tires can go out of alignment with just everyday Michigan driving. Wyoming road hazards, pot holes, uneven or gravel roads, and even the bumps and bounces of normal Wyoming roads and surface streets can gradually put your vehicle tires out of alignment.

So it's good auto advice to have your vehicle's alignment inspected periodically. Your vehicle's owner's manual will have recommendations on how often you should get an alignment check: usually every year or two. But if you think your vehicle tires might be out of alignment, you should bring your vehicle into Tuffy Wyoming now.

When you bring your vehicle in for an alignment, your technician at Tuffy Wyoming will start by inspecting the steering and suspension systems. If something is broken or damaged there, it will need to be fixed in order to get good alignment of the wheels.

If all looks good in the steering and suspension departments, the vehicle will then be put on an alignment rack where an initial alignment reading is taken. The wheels can then be aligned to the vehicle manufacturer's specifications. The ideal alignment for any vehicle is set by its engineers and may vary from vehicle to vehicle.

There are three types of adjustments that may have to be made to correctly align a vehicle's tires. The first is called “toe.” This refers to tires that are out of alignment because they point inward or outward at the front of the tire. Think of a person who is pigeon-toed or splay-footed, and you get the idea.

The second adjustment is the camber. This adjustment affects the angle at which the tires meet the road. Think of a solid building in contrast to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The last adjustment is the castor. This adjustment measures the angle of the tire in relation to the front axles. So, a piece of auto advice that just might be good for life as well: keep everything in alignment, and you'll be able to steer where you want to go. Drive safely.

 Tuffy Wyoming
4315 Clyde Park Ave. SW
Wyoming, Michigan 49509
616.534.8643

Need Service?

Request a Quote

More articles from Tuffy Wyoming

Give me a Brake (Light)!

March 25, 2024

If that little brake warning light pops up on your dash, do you know what it means? Well, if you said no, you wouldn't be alone. You know it has something to do with your brakes, but exactly what? You're not sure. One of the reasons is that it could mean a lot of different things. It could be som... More

Don't Be Shocked (Shock Absorbers)

March 17, 2024

If you've ever ridden down a rough road on your bicycle, you know how hard a ride it can be. Yet drive down the same road in your car, truck or SUV and it miraculously will smooth out the ride. That's because it is equipped with shock absorbers. They are built to dampen impacts from road irreg... More

Them's the Brakes (Brake Rotor Resurfacing)

March 10, 2024

Your vehicle's brakes wear out. It's inevitable. You'll notice it when you step on the brake pedal and feel it harder to stop, or there's vibration when you are braking. Most modern vehicles have disc brakes that each use a brake pad that press on a disc (disc brakes!) called a rotor. The fric... More